Ruth's Nostos
by Msynergy
Summary: Never in a million years did Emma imagine she'd get to meet her, but then her life has been full of surprises recently hasn't it? Emma and Grandma Ruth, featuring Charming later on.
1. Part 1

_Ruth's Nostos  
_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

Author's Note: A what-if thought I had that turned into fanfic. Enjoy.

"It took you long enough to get here, but I knew you would eventually."

The voice jerks Emma awake, her eyes darting as she quickly pushes herself up.

Wait, what? Where's here? A lake? The lake? But damn it they just got home!

"Where's Snow?! What have you done to her?!" she snaps, locating the owner of the voice as her hand reaches for the dagger still sheathed in her boot.

"Oh calm down, sweetheart, your mother is fine. As is my boy and yours. And all thanks to you I might add," the older woman before her just smiles, and there's something about that smile, something that makes her stop.

_My boy…_

No way, it couldn't be. Could it?

"Wait- Your boy…You mean David, don't you? But that makes you my-"

"Grandmother, yes," she nods.

She wants to believe she's just dreaming, that this can't be real, but after everything that's happened in the past few weeks suspending her disbelief has become an every day occurrence. This all could be some awful magic trick by Gold or whomever, but her superpower says otherwise. In fact it's all but screaming at her that this is legit. Which means that this woman really is her grandmother.

She'd made a point of reading Henry's book again since getting home, trying to fill in the gaps so she wouldn't have to ask stupid questions in the future regarding Storybrooke citizens' dual natures. But besides their roles in her parents' story her biological grandparents had featured very little. She'd just gone on assuming that unless their deaths were mentioned they'd all passed on. No need to ask her parents and bring up more painful memories.

But taking the time to really take this woman in, Emma realizes she's everything she ever thought a grandmother should be. A plump, inviting face, bright eyes twinkling through greying curls all wrapped in a simple white dress and shawl. The kind of grandma who would have spoiled her grandchildren rotten and told them every possible embarrassing story she had of their father when he was growing up. It stings more than she wants to admit that she never got to know this person, this part of her family.

"You're right. I was long gone by the time the Queen cast that awful curse."

Emma starts, how had she-

"It was written all over your face, my dear. Your father never could keep much from me and it appears he's passed that trait on to you."

She has to smirk at the amusement in the woman's voice, but the fact still remains-

"What am I doing here exactly? And why here? Why this stupid lake?"

"Why indeed," she nods, "Come, we have much to discuss."

The woman offers her hand easily, as if she assumes she'll take it, and before Emma realizes it her own hand is reaching out. The fingers that touch hers are calloused, and there's definitely strength in the arm that tugs her along to walk the edge of the lake.

"First off, you can call me Ruth. I know you've been having enough trouble with names lately and that one's easy to remember."

"Okay, Ruth," she nods, "What's up with the lake? I assume I'm in some kind of magic dream state?"

"In a way yes, your physical body is fast asleep on a couch back in Storybrooke. It's similar to a sleeping curse in that this is very real, but in your heart and soul only. Not just anyone can accomplish it."

"But how do you know all this if you died before I was born?"

"Because as you're starting to be aware, love is powerful magic. It can break any curse, any barrier, even death. This lake is where you became a possibility all those years ago. This is where I gave my life so that Snow could bear children again."

Now that definitely gets her attention. Maybe she could get to know this grandmother of hers after all.

"Tell me more."


	2. Part 2

_Part 2_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

She doesn't know how long they walk, the beach seems to go on and on, all she pays attention to is the lilt of her grandmother's voice as she weaves the tale of how her mother had been cursed infertile by King George and the subsequent events that led to Ruth's sacrifice. She'd very nearly never been born, and Emma suddenly has a whole new appreciation for what her parents had done giving her up like they had, what Snow must have felt. Had she even ever told Charming? She makes a note to give her mother an extra hug when she wakes up.

"I gave all so that my son could find his happiness with your mother, and I'm so happy it came true," Ruth finally ends her story, but the words make Emma start, her mental plans quickly put aside.

"What are you talking about? Twenty-eight years trapped in a coma is happiness? Not to mention he was in that coma only because he almost died getting baby me to safety."

"But aren't you happy now? Home with your son and parents? Isn't my son happy to have you and Snow back?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Who knows how long it will last? Child, every happy moment, no matter how brief, is priceless. Each one creates a memory that you can hold onto in the darkest of times, like lighting a candle in the night. The happier the moment, the bigger the candle, and the more light it will give to help guide you. One of my happiest moments was seconds before my death, watching your father marry your mother."

And really, what can she say to that?

"You got me there," Emma sighs.

"Yes, I do. And you know why I know you so well? From the second you were born to now I've been watching over you. These waters connect us, what I gave up so that you may live. The true love that you embody, that you've finally begun to channel enables me to speak to you now, not just watch."

"The most powerful magic of them all. I get it. But why now?"

"I wanted to tell you to give your father a chance."

"What?" Emma starts, jerking her hand free, "A visit from beyond the grave and that's what you want to talk about?"

But Ruth only smiles that knowing smile.

"I know you never thought you'd really find him, Emma. The chances of finding your mother in that world were slim enough. But now you've found him and you're home and you don't know how to address that, yes?"

It's true. And it's something she hasn't even gone into with Snow, so she'll hear Ruth out.

"That's what I thought. The thing is your father only ever wanted a simple life filled with love and family, in that way he's still the shepherd your grandfather and I raised him to be. He adores you Emma, he just doesn't know how to go about expressing that now that you're grown. Which is why I ask you to give him a chance, he's not what the curse made him to be, at all."

She takes Ruth's words in, really let's them sink deep, but the problem is where does she start? It'd been easier in some ways with Snow; they'd already had a friendship, a baseline to build from, rocky as it may have been at the start. But David? No such luck. He'd been that d-bag who'd treated Mary Margaret like a doormat and was not to be trusted, nothing more, nothing less.

"He brought home a baby griffin once, when he was younger."

And that statement immediately derails her train of thought.

"A what?!"


	3. Part 3

_Part 3_

Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.

Ruth just smiles again.

"A griffin. Beak, paws, the whole bit. Its parents had been slaughtered, best as we could figure. Of course I wouldn't have it at first, cute as it was I knew it wouldn't be cute for long. But he flashed me those baby blues and I couldn't say no. His father had passed months before and I hadn't seen the light return in those eyes until then. Kept it in a shed he built himself, raised it to hunt for itself and stay away from the livestock. Best as we could understand that's why its parents died so he was determined not to see this little one suffer the same fate. And even as it grew stronger and bigger and I got so worried about him never once did your father shirk. 'We all need somebody, mother,' he told me once, and only then did I understand the size of my son's heart. Here was this creature, a monster by all human accounts, and he still accepted it, treated it like a brother. And once it was old enough he let it go, watched it fly into the sunset with a smile on his face. That's the kind of man your father is, Emma. I just want you to understand that about him if anything. He won't give up on you, no matter your past or people's preconceptions, you just need to give him that chance."

And for some reason, through Ruth's words it's easy to imagine her father doing such a thing, maybe because Henry would have too. Those two were more alike than she ever could have imagined. And the thought that this new David would care about what other's might have thought not worth it the effort warms her. The David she knew from before would never have had the guts, but this new man? How far a stretch would it be for him to care like that about her?

"I guess," she clears her throat, "I guess I can be more open to the possibilities. Two-way street and all."

Ruth smiles, taking her hand once more "That's all I ask. Now give your grandmother a hug, my time here is almost done."

"Done? But I thought-"

"All magic has its limits, Emma. I had to choose the time I took to speak with you wisely. Now I must move on. So come here."

Ruth pulls her in, and she hugs back, unable to stop the sense that once again time was not on her side.

"Now, now, child, don't fret. I may be gone from this place, but we're always connected. Please say hello to your dear father and mother and son for me, yes?" she pulls back smiling, reaching up to cradle Emma's face.

"You have her chin, but you most definitely have his eyes," Ruth smiles, and for some reason Emma finds herself fighting back tears.

"Hush now, it's alright. It was wonderful to finally meet you, Emma."

And just like that she's gone, vanished into thin air, and Emma wakes up with a start, still feeling Ruth's hands on her face as her vision adjusts to reveal the couch she'd called her bed for a few days now.

"Emma? Everything okay?" David's hushed voice calls from the kitchen, and she realizes the sun has just barely started to rise. Meaning it's early, far too early for her to be as awake as she feels.

Groaning she flops back down into the couch, and hears a chuckle.

"That good a dream, huh?"

And then it hits her. A dream. A lake. Ruth!

"You could say that yeah," she finally answers, rubbing her brow, before sitting up to eye her father.

"So why are you up so early?"

He starts, as if he'd expected her last answer to be the end of their conversation, and she realizes it normally would have been.

"Couldn't sleep," he shrugs, "Figured I'd get breakfast going. You like waffles?"

It's a simple question, but his eyes hold a wealth of such wonderings, and whether she was aware of it before she is now. He wants to get to know her, and she made a promise to somebody important that she'd give him the chance.

"Yeah, I like them," she nods, and he smiles like she just gave him exactly what he wanted for his birthday.

"Great! Try to catch a few more winks if you like, need some time to get the batter ready."

"Might go shower, actually. Not often I get the first crack at the hot water anymore," she smirks, still relishing the idea of indoor plumbing as she untangles herself from the blankets and gets up.

"Oh, and David?" she calls halfway to the bathroom.

"Yeah?" he asks, obviously still unused to her purposefully conversing with him.

"I'd like to hear more about that griffin you brought home sometime, Ruth wasn't big on the details."

God what Emma would give for a camera at that precise moment. She's never seen him look so stunned.

And finally letting her laughter out as she closes the bathroom door behind her, she swears she can almost hear Ruth laughing too.


End file.
